After defeating Alex Reyes at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, Charlie Campbell paid homage to The Rock.
Campbell began by asking post-fight interviewer Daniel Cormier what he thought of his boxing. Before Cormier could respond, Campbell cut him off with, “It doesn’t matter what you think.”
The tribute to the Rock came 24 hours after The Rock made his return to WWE, making a surprise appearance on WWE SmackDown.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Campbell spoke about his tribute to The Rock.
“Everyone has great ideas, it’s just who is going to go for it. Other people have come up with clever things to do in the moment. I’m just the kind of guy to shoot for it and capitalize. I could have looked stupid, but I was going for it. My good friend Austin Hallack, we bring his Xbox for fight week and all we watch is WWF throwbacks from the Attitude Era. I said, ‘It’d be something if I did that.’ I rehearsed it a little bit and I was like, ‘I’m going to get DC so bad,'” he said.
When asked if Rock’s return gave him more of a reason to do it, Campbell replied, “Everything contributed to deciding that. I’m cool and calm through the whole thing. Form warming up to post-show, I’m calm enough to think about what I’m going to do.”
Cormier is a noted wrestling fan who has made appearances on WWE television in the past.
Asked if he thought Cormier was upset by it, Campbell replied, “I think, deep down, he respected it. It’s not like anything personal. He had to digest it quick. I still think I could have done a better job. I’m going to capitalize on those ten seconds I get.”
Helwani asked if The Rock responded to the post-fight promo by Campbell, and Campbell said that he saw Rock interacting with a ESPN post of the promo.
“He saw it. He’s a hero of mine. I got his stamp of approval in some way. Some seed is planted for future business together,” he said.
Along with hitting DC with the “It doesn’t matter,” Campbell asked if Rock would put him in a movie.
Fans can find The Rock’s comments on his return to WWE by clicking here.
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